[FF] Grail Works, Ltd.: Fate/Anarchy (Type-Moon/Scion crossover)

[RanmaBushiko]

*Looks left, then right* Hmm. This is quiet. Let's liven it up with a surprise chapter, shall we? Really, the last one from me was supposed to come out BEFORE Kieran's last chapter, and he's nearly done with the NEXT one, so this works out well enough.

Chapter 5: Of meetings and Deals

As usual, I don't own Fate, Scion, etc. Otherwise I wouldn't be stuck living on as little as I make.

July 1, 2004

In a candlelit room, three people meet.

"So. Why are we in a dark room with candles? Oh, do you mind if I smoke, sir?" A man's voice calls out.

"It's for spooky ambience, mostly. It fits the 'spooky vibe' that most mages think I should have, if they show up drunk. Also, that's fine. I like messing with people, after all... but truth be told, this is a rather serious meeting." The one speaking now is an old, grey man with a white beard and red eyes, missing his usual smirk.

"Hmmm. To be called in by you of all people, it's a surprise, that's for sure. I suppose I'll light up, as we... do we both have the same brand of cigarettes?" A young woman, wearing a cloak, speaks up now.

"Huh. We do have the same brand. Small world, isn't it?" The first man responds.

"Indeed, Mr. Sisigou. Indeed. As I was saying, however, we have an interesting situation with what's going on. As for you, Miss, out of every iteration of yourself that's ever been, you're the only one to reach out to me, rather then be stuck in a rut. Congratulations on that."

"Indeed? Well, let's hear what's going on, Wizard Marshall Zelretch."

Zelretch turns, smirking, to turn on a television, then pushes in a tape to show a commercial.

Cue cheesy commercial music.
Do you have PROBLEMS with wild animals?
The video shows a scene of a bear mauling some poor saps with a picnic basket.
Do you have ISSUES with cutting metal?
The video changes to a scene of an angle grinder failing to cut through a steel beam.
Or perhaps you have issues with cutting through trees? Maybe that irritating Home Owner's Association has decided to harass you about trees on your lawn?
The video changes to a scene of a giant bill for having trees in a man's yard, and a man weeping over the bill.
Have you considered... LASERS?
Wolf, Wolf and Wolf Incorporated, are proud to present the first man portable laser rifle!
This thing can cut through wild animals like Bears like a hot knife through butter.
The video now shows a clip of a man screaming while running away from a giant black bear.
"Oh god, it's chasing me, it's CHASING ME! KILL IT!"
*BZZZT*
"Did... that thing just cut that bear in HALF?!"
It can cut through STEEL like a hot knife through butter!
The video now switches to a man running off, holding a backpack in one arm, and a laser rifle in the other, with a big cord connecting the two.
"AHA! NOW I HAVE THIS PROTOTYPE THAT I HAVE STOLEN FROM YOUR COMPANY! I SHALL SHOW YOU THAT IT IS FRAUDULENT, AND THAT WE ARE DECADES AWAY FROM A WORKING MAN PORTABLE LASER THAT CAN CUT LIKE THIS!"
*BZZZT*
"OH FUCK, IT REALLY WORKS! I JUST CUT THAT TRUCK IN HALF!"
*BZZZT*
"OH FUCK! I JUST CUT OFF MY ARM WITH IT! OH FUCK! WHAT THE HELL?! WHY DIDN'T YOU PUT SAFETY NOTICES ON THAT THING?!"
And it can cut through forests like a HOT KNIFE THROUGH BUTTER AS WELL!
The video changes to a scene of a tranquil forest, then a laser carving through half the trees in the forest, followed by a fire starting.
Keep in mind that we aren't responsible for any fires that customers may start through this method, and that lawsuits will be laughed at!
Purchasing our laser involves a contract that you will sign, that means you accept all responsibilities for things you destroy with our laser!
Buy your man portable cutting laser TODAY for just 50,000 dollars!

The commercial stops, then is rewound, before playing again.

"Oh good grief. What the hell?" Both Kairi Sisigou and the woman groan in unison, before blinking and glancing at each other.

"I can assure you, that isn't magecraft. Unfortunately, it could be worse. We had a small... incident, some time ago, involving a Norse God dropping in from another universe, and landing on Mars. Who's now somehow here on Earth. Seeing as the Great Grail War is getting ready to start, he's going to be interfering, since he lost something, and the Caster of Black has found it. Something quite possibly lethal for all life on the planet, if he figures out how to activate it."

"And so we're your people for getting it to the fellow?" Kairi Sisigou speaks up, as his companion sits, watching.

"More the people I want to see helping that Norse God get it before the Caster of Black screws us all over, and wipes out all life on the planet." Zelretch nods to them.

"So, if we help you, you'll be helping us HOW exactly?" The lady speaks up, calmly enjoying her cigarette.

"Indeed. You were interested in trying to find a way to get a true magic, were you not? As well as immortality?" Zelretch smiles, settling back in his seat, while watching her.

"I am, indeed." She nods, relaxing slightly.

"Mr. Sisigou here is your best partner for things, then. Of course, you'll have to do quid pro quo, but saving the world is going to be worth it. As I said in my message, I expect you two to join the Great Grail War as masters of Red. More specifically, as the master of Saber, and Lancer."

They both nod, obviously thinking, before Kairi Sisigou speaks up. "Sounds interesting. We can help each other out?"

"Your skills uniquely help each other's. Furthermore, if you work together, you have a chance of resurrecting your step daughter, before the Great Grail War starts. If you win and give her the wish, she can guarantee that your step daughter will be fully restored to you, necromancy or not, and that there's no issues with her incarnation post Grail War."

Kairi Sisigou goes wide eyed, then grins. "I can live with that."

The woman speaks up, next. "Outdoing my sister, and gaining a True Magic to show her up? It'll let me see who's the better of us once and for all. I'm in, too. I could use a partner for this, anyways."

She then pulls back her cloak, revealing red hair, red eyes, and a pair of glasses, before getting up to leave.

"Indeed you can, Touko Aozaki. Indeed you can." Zelretch grins widely, before continuing. "So it's a deal then? I help you two get servants, and work towards your goals, and in turn, you help that Norse God out?"

They nod, in sync.

"Good. I'll help you two out in getting your servants in a day, so you two can work things out between yourselves. Feel free to leave at any time."

"So. You have a box of these cigarettes too?" Kairi mentions, as he walks out the door.

"Not just a box, I have the crate." Touko's voice replies, as she leaves as well.

"Wow. Well, I hate the flavor, but you've gotta admit, it shows you how the world can be." Kairi's voice can be heard echoing down the hall, even as Zelretch pulls out a checklist.

"Indeed. I feel the same way, in truth. I think I could get to like working with you." Touko's voice, now faint, can be heard.

"So. Two more Masters of Red." Zelretch sighs. "Now to hope that they're enough for ensure the worst case scenario doesn't happen."

A long pause, before Zelretch calmly puts his face in one palm. "I forgot to mention that that Norse God has the ability to clone people, too. I suppose I'll have to tell them tomorrow."




The Next Day...

Zelretch walks, as both Kairi Sisigou follow.

"For you, Mr. Sisigou, we have the option of a catalyst, one that you'll truly enjoy. A fragment of the table that the Knights of the Round table sat at."

He grins widely. "That's going to be impressive."

"I also got you a small hydra, so you can make an antidote for their venom, or use it as a poison. Whatever you wish for, to be truthful. Should have enough for 3 or so doses."

"That's... thank you, sir. Why?"

Zelretch grins, widely. "I'm stacking the deck, of course. I know one way this COULD go, after all."

Kairi Sisigou nods, then looks towards his companion. "How about Miss Aozaki? What's your plan for her that brought us all the way out here, wherever... this is?"

"Oh, that? I'm stacking the deck further. Normally, the person in question can't function as a servant, but if you make a contract with her, she can work as one with you."

Kairi and Touko both blink in unison, before Touko speaks up.

"A contract, Zelretch? What kind of contract?"

He smirks at them, while moving towards a castle in the distance.

"It's hard to become a Heroic Spirit if you aren't dead yet, isn't it?"

Touko Aozaki's eyes widen, then narrow in contemplation.

"Welcome to the Realm of Shadows, the home of the legendary immortal queen, Scathach. Please don't piss her off while I negotiate with her."

Their eyes widen as he continues, swinging a sword made from gemstones, before reality alters itself.

"Kairi, feel free to summon using the catalyst I gave you, while I talk with the good Lady Scathach, unless you'd rather wait with Miss Touko and talk with her?"

Kairi nods, then moves to talk with Touko as Zelretch smirks, moving on ahead.

"So. You can bring back my step daughter?" Kairi studies Touko Aozaki, while studying the place they're in.

"I'm an expert at ensuring people can live on in dolls, if we can put the magic circuits into the dolls. That part is the expensive part. But considering the Great Grail War, and the sheer number of foes with decent magic circuits we'll be fighting, I suspect that shouldn't be a problem for either of us. As long as you're willing to sacrifice our foes or their creations, to ensure your daughter can live again, it will be fine."

A nod from Kairi, as he thinks it over. "I don't mind. I joined mostly to bring her back, after all. If working with you guarantees me that, I'll go for it wholeheartedly. As for you, I've heard rumors about the fighting between you and your sister. Anything I should know about?"

"She still wants to beat me down for killing her friend. I'm still not sure exactly HOW she resurrected him with the fifth true Magic, but she did it anyways. Aside from that, we're on relatively good terms involving us showing the other up whenever possible. This should give me the edge I need to show her that I AM able to work with a true magic, whether she likes it or not." Touko sighs, then lights another cigarette, while thinking.

Kairi nods, before smoking alongside her, watching the land they now are in.




It doesn't take long, before Zelretch comes out, with a woman that has long red hair, and red eyes. One who is armed with a spear. But it takes hours on end of bargaining between Touko and her, to agree for Scathach to work as a Servant for her. Mostly about her needing to drink Scathach under the table, or find her some truly once in a lifetime alcohol.

Much to Touko's surprise, Zelretch interjected at that point with a comment of "She'll find that on the way, and I don't think you've drunk Dwarven beer before, Lady Scathach."

After that, they work on the ritual to summon for Kairi, as well as the ritual to bind Scathach to Touko.



Author's Note:

I binge read the entirety of the Kara no Kyoukai series, to get a good idea of how to write Touko Aozaki. Even still, I thought having her be a "mysterious cloaked figure" would work well at first, just to mess with you all.

Next chapter will be back to Olga Marie Animusphere from me.

As Kieran said. This is named Anarchy for good REASON.

We have a Norse God of Innovation and Mecha, Olga Marie Animusphere, armed with Magical Sapphire, Kairi Sisigou shaping up to be a decent protagonist, along with Touko Aozaki as a partner for him, as well as Godafrid, Kotomine Shirou and Rin Tohsaka.

To go over the servants, though, currently...

Godafrid summons ????
Erik Ulricson summons ????
Shirou Kotomine summons Semiramis
Olga Marie Animusphere summons Mash Kyrielight (And Fou! For reasons...)
Rin Tohsaka summons EMIYA
Kairi Sisigou summons Mordred (as he does in canon)
Touko summons/recruits Scathach (For the beer! I've been stuck without alcohol for 2,000 years!)

Also, for the record? I got the idea of the commercial from the SAO Abridged laughing coffin commercial. You can watch it here.

[Kieran]

Huh - I'd have held back on the bit with Caster of Black a bit longer, maybe dropping a few hints, but whatever works for you. And the commercial is still funny.

Couple of minor nitpicks, though: it should be "out of every iteration" (you missed the "y"), and the phrase is "quid pro quo." Other than that, we're moving right along.

[RanmaBushiko]

Huh - I'd have held back on the bit with Caster of Black a bit longer, maybe dropping a few hints, but whatever works for you. And the commercial is still funny.

Couple of minor nitpicks, though: it should be "out of every iteration" (you missed the "y"), and the phrase is "quid pro quo." Other than that, we're moving right along.

Thought you'd enjoy the commercial. And thanks for the nitpicks. I DID miss those.

[Kieran]

No problem, it's what I'm here for . . . And as a suggestion, you might want to add more spacing between your scene breaks, just to make them easier to tell apart.

[Xamusel]

Okay, one major nitpick on this end... Aoko is in possession of the Fifth True Magic, not the Fourth.

[RanmaBushiko]

Okay, one major nitpick on this end... Aoko is in possession of the Fifth True Magic, not the Fourth.

In all the Melty Blood games, yes. In most references I can FIND, yes. However, from everything I've found involving Mahouyou/Witch on the Holy Night, in that game it's classified as the FOURTH, not FIFTH. I own that game, and I'm STILL waiting for the translation to come out before I play it (and my french is nowhere near good enough to play the french translation, after this many years off of college), but every resource I've found refers to it as the Fourth true magic in Mahouyou.

And since this Touko still has vivid memories of that going through her head...

[Arbitrarity]

Source? I admittedly haven't read Mahoyo myself, but most other sources seem to refer to it as the Fifth. The fourth is generally considered to be "hidden".

The beginning first changed everything.
The following second acknowledged many.
The resulting third showed the future.
The linking fourth concealed itself.
And the final fifth had already lost its meaning.

[RanmaBushiko]

Okay, one major nitpick on this end... Aoko is in possession of the Fifth True Magic, not the Fourth.

Source? I admittedly haven't read Mahoyo myself, but most other sources seem to refer to it as the Fifth. The fourth is generally considered to be "hidden".

Well, I couldn't FIND the reference, even though I just woke up. Even though I found something like four different references to it being the fourth somewhere online. Something about "This game revealing that their magic is the fourth, not the fifth". Or possibly the fourth still in USE. That actually makes more sense, now that I think about it...

Ugh. Gimme a bit to change it, then.

[Arbitrarity]

No problem, we're all just nitpicky here. Also,

Of course, you'll have to do prid pro quo, but saving the world is going to be worth it.

should be "quid pro quo"

Zelretch promising Touko a True Magic seems like he's screwing with her, but I guess that's par for the course. I might need to look into Kairi's powers a bit more though, they might have some synergy I'm not thinking of. I don't see much other than references to him stealing Magic Crests, which is useful for Touko, but I thought she could do that herself.

Erik selling laser rifles is... unsurprising (and hilarious), though I wonder how he's managing the legal issues. Probably via massive firepower.

So we have 2 of Rider/Berserker/Caster left on Red (since Mash is taking one of those spots). Not sure what to try and predict there.

[Kieran]

DISCLAIMER: Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Fate/Stay Night, and all related characters and concepts are the creation and property of Kinoko Nasu and TYPE-MOON, along with whomever they’ve happened to license them to, such as Geneon, Funimation, A-1 Pictures and Netflix.
This is a not-for-profit, just-for-fun project.




Trifas, Romania
July 1, 2004








“Teacher!” cried Roche. “The next shipment of materials has arrived!”

The poet and philosopher who was known in life as Solomon ibn Gabirol, or “Avicebron”—and now for current purposes, “Caster of Black”—glanced at the boy who was serving as his Master in this Great Holy Grail War. He did not, as a rule, care for children; or for humanity in general, really. As such, despite his profession’s associations with teaching, he had never taken students. Still, there was something to be said for this one’s enthusiasm.

It was . . . Refreshing to be so esteemed, given the events of his lifetime. Not that it would stop Caster from using the boy, in any way required, in order to complete his great work—but as of now, it seemed as though such an act would be unnecessary.

. . . After all, he had literally been given a gift from the Heavens with which to do so. It was merely up to him to make it work . . .

Aloud, however, he merely said, “Excellent. And the production of the standard golems proceeds as expected?”

“Yup!” the Yggdmillennia boy replied with a grin. “Just like you planned it to—I never knew golem manufacturing could be done so quickly and smoothly!”

“With the proper materials, and sufficient practice, even the wondrous can be rendered into merely rote,” Caster noted. “And as to the miraculous . . .”

He turned his gaze upon the object of his study—An element like none he had never before seen or heard of upon this earth, and whose sheer purity could not even have been imagined.

And even that was far eclipsed by its power . . .

Truly, only an act of God could have created such a thing, and that it had arrived now, literally falling from the heavens to this place, when he sought to complete his Noble Phantasm at last . . .

“. . . The miraculous,” Caster repeated, “takes a little longer.”

It was requiring some refinement of his initial design, to ensure that the golem could endure the raw force of what was to become its heart—to say nothing of using it effectively—but once complete, he had no doubt whatsoever that his Noble Phantasm would function as he had envisioned.

“But you can do it, right, Teacher?” the boy asked, nearly bouncing with excitement. “I really wanna see this awesome golem!”

It would bring about a pure, pristine, perfect Eden . . .

“Oh, yes, young Master,” Caster assured him. “With all the materials in place, it is simply a matter of time . . .”








“Interesting . . .” Lord Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, head of the Yggdmillennia Clan, murmured from the comfort of his leather armchair.

While the rest of the family understood that the castle’s defences included surveillance, and had some access to the Bounded Fields that comprised them, none but he realised the level to which they went in monitoring the circumstances of the surrounding environs. Indeed, he had gone to some effort to strengthen them, prior to the summoning of their “Caster of Black.”

Magi were, after all, a generally unscrupulous lot, and single-minded in the pursuit of their own agendas—and however useful or necessary, only a simpleton would not consider that when undertaking dealings with the Heroic Spirit of a magus. And if Darnic had been a simpleton, he would never have survived the Grail War, never mind to the present day.

Opposite him, in an equally sumptuous armchair, on the far side of a largely-empty marble chessboard, an equally aristocratic figure arched an eyebrow.

“‘Interesting,’ Darnic?” came the smooth, mellifluous voice of his pale companion. “You do not find it at all concerning that your heir plots intrigues, supposedly outside of your notice—or that she shows so little talent for it?”

“On the contrary, Lord Tepes,” Darnic returned, in a baritone that, if lacking the rich power of the other lord’s voice, was smoothed by self-assurance in such a way that it seemed nearly as appealing. “I find this an encouraging sign of Fiore’s growth. Her position as my successor was based upon her talent as a magus, not her capacity to think like one—indeed, if she has any weakness, it is not the frailty of her body, but her heart.”

His smile was pleased, if not pleasant. “I am pleased to see that heart being tempered under the circumstances, rather than breaking entirely—and that she is putting the well-being of family above all else.”

The bearded man nodded in acknowledgement of the point; he, too, had known nobles of weak character, too fearful or sentimental to do what was required. In that, he agreed with the magus: this was an encouraging sign of mettle to see in one’s heir.

“You do not see this as a sign of doubt in your victory?” the pale man (who was indeed no such thing) pressed. “Or even a waste of a potential asset? She asked for no actions against our enemies, after all—or even to gather intelligence regarding them.”

“As to the first, no,” Darnic said with a shake of his head. “While I have no doubts that we will win, it is not a bad habit, by any means, to plan for failure and its consequences in any given undertaking— or, in this particular case, to consider the possibility of reprisals after our victory. That Fiore is doing so is, as I said, an encouraging sign; it means that I chose rightly for her to lead our family after I reach the Root, over the older, more experienced magi here—and as to the second . . .

“The boy’s assessment was far from inaccurate,” the magus noted. “No lone magus could reasonably be expected to face six magi, and quite probably six Servants—to say nothing of his own, potentially—and expect to survive. And if the one in charge of selecting the Masters has any brains at all, they will be six of the most cunning and ruthless magi possible . . .

“No, the risk is too high,” Darnic concluded. “Even accomplishing the task Fiore set him will be quite difficult, though I’ve no doubt he will make the utmost effort, nonetheless.”

“. . . And yet you fear no betrayal from him, given what you just said about the enemy Masters?” The tone used was inquisitive but casual almost off-hand—but the burning intensity in the eyes of his companion belied the importance of the answer.

“I did not select the boy for Fiore solely for his family’s abilities,” Darnic answered firmly. “He has intelligence, as Fiore has, and a sense of ruthlessness that she admittedly lacks—but he lacks the ambition of a magus. The Root is of no interest to him, and the games of power-politicking among the Lords of the Clock Tower are of even less interest.

“What he has is loyalty; to his own ideals, and loyalty to Fiore in particular. To see her succeed, and prosper, he will bring all of his powers to bear; employ all of that intellect and that ruthlessness, to spare her suffering—even if it is only of her conscience . . . “ With a faint smile, he added, “Or to avenge her suffering, should it come to that.”

“You seem remarkably certain of that, Lord Darnic,” remarked the other, in the tone of one who senses an unspoken story.

“Well, he left the Clock Tower for a reason, Lord Tepes,” Darnic replied. “And I’m certain the Sophia-Ri family would have protested his doing so alive, even with the lack of proof that he was responsible—if there had been anyone left to do so.” The dark-haired man smiled. “Such a pity, what happened to their only heir, you see: he suffered such a sudden and violent rejection of the family’s Magic Crest that it was utterly destroyed in the process . . .

“It was the tragic culmination of a very bad month for that young man,” the magus concluded with mock-sympathy. “What with his family’s finances being stolen, their magical resources scattered to the winds, and his workshop burned to the ground.”

“Very ill fortunes, indeed,” Lord Tepes observed, with a flicker of interest in his eyes. “What might he have done, I wonder, to so offend God that it merited such a punishment?”

Darnic paused for a sip of wine. “. . . Well, his family was being rather insistent on his finding a bride, to continue the Sophia-Ri line—but he’d asserted that Fiore, despite being fortunate enough to be chosen to share his bed, was assuredly not a potential candidate for the position, given the ‘disgrace’ of our family. Nor, despite her firm refusals of the opportunity, was she or anyone else in a position to prevent it from happening.”

Lord Tepes grimaced, before admitting, “That . . . Is a not-unfamiliar position to me, amongst men on campaign—or nobles, come to that. Few with such little grace, however, were men worth knowing, in my opinion.”

“Quite,” Darnic agreed. “An opinion the young man seems to share—along with your historical penchant for, shall we say, ‘spectacular examples?’”

“They served their purpose,” the other retorted, with no real rancour—Darnic had made it clear that he had no problem with such things, so no offense was taken in the statement.

“Indeed,” the magus agreed. “And this example worked to a similar purpose. There was no proof that he was responsible, and no doubt that, against the massed might of the Clock Tower, he could be brought down . . . But when dealing with someone willing to utterly destroy a magus family—position, lineage, Crest and all . . . No one wished to be the first to risk drawing his ire. After all, if he had acted, it had been in reaction to an insult, and to a friend, at that—what might he do against an actual threat, to himself?”

Lord Tepes nodded, repeating Darnic’s earlier response. “Indeed—as you say, I am quite familiar with the tactic.”

“After some negotiation—pushed by the Archisorte family, as I understand it—the boy was allowed to leave the Clock Tower, and no more was said on the matter.” Darnic took another sip of wine, and concluded mildly, “By her own account, however, Fiore had no further trouble with unwanted suitors until she left her own schooling there—or any sort of harassment at all.”

The paler man chuckled. “I understand completely—and having heard the tale, I feel ‘tis a pity he will not be fighting openly alongside us; there is always a place for those like him under my command. But I believe you have chosen well in your heir’s guard dog, and I suspect his placement among our enemies, while precarious, will yet prove quite the useful stratagem . . .”








Sighișoara, Romania
July 1, 2004








Night had fallen by the time Frid’s preparations were ready. Well, actually that wasn’t true; he’d been ready in less than an hour, all told, but he’d waited for nightfall, because he’d felt this was best done under moonlight—and that sort of feeling was important to his particular methods of working magecraft.

In that span of time, however, he’d long considered his answer to Fiore’s request, to say nothing of all the other elements of that conversation.




He’d honestly meant to say “Huh?” in response—the genuine shock of the request made him incapable of making a more coherent response. What actually came out of his mouth, however, was “The Red Faction? Not yours . . .?”

In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t so surprising; the hurt in his voice at that moment stung him badly—it was little wonder Fiore flinched at it, and impressive that flinching was all she did.

She was kinder than he was, after all—so to show this little, she had to be desperate.

“. . . The only one I could have you replace is Caules,” she said heavily, her eyes sad. “And I would, in a heartbeat—but I’d never convince him to give up his place as a Master. But I have to protect him. I’m his older sister, after all.” Her eyes lowered, and her voice softened in apology. “. . . I told you it was a selfish request.”

After a moment, Frid remarked, “. . . Sweetheart, I’m decent, but I don’t think I’m up to assassinating—”

Her head shot up as he spoke, expression alarmed. “OH! No, no—it’s nothing like that!” She waved her hands frantically in negation. “I’d never ask you to do that, Godafrid . . . !”

Feeling a palpable sense of relief that Fiore hadn’t turned into some kind of ice-queen mastermind when he wasn’t looking—to say nothing of not being sent on a suicide mission—he sighed, and replied, “Then take a breath, and explain exactly what you want me to do.”

“Protect Caules,” she replied immediately. “As best you can.”

Frid blinked. Not spying, not sabotage—not outright, anyways—and not . . .?

“. . . Caules, but not you?” he asked.

“I expect that you’ll try, during the War itself,” she answered softly. “And that’s part of the reason—from the other side, you can try to mitigate the damage. Not stop it, I know, but you will hopefully keep him from being killed—and me, too, if you can. But there’s a more important part of it.

“If we lose, there will be consequences—and I’m Grandfather Darnic’s heir. There’s no way that I won’t be made to pay for our rebellion—and there’s nothing even you can do to change it, this time . . . But, Caules—Caules is no one to the Clock Tower. He’s not a once-in-a-generation prodigy, or wealthy or possessed of a unique talent—he has nothing that would induce anyone to speak for him, no one who would protect him, except me . . . And I won’t even be able to save myself.”

She started crying, at that point—tearing up, if not actually weeping.

“It’s not fair to ask, I know it isn’t,” she said fiercely, her voice breaking, “but you’re all I have, and it’s all I can do . . . Please, please protect my baby brother—any way you can. Please, Frid . . .”




In no life (previous or current, real or imagined) had he ever been good at handling crying girls—so naturally, he’d caved immediately. Fiore’s grateful hug in return had been nice, even if she had threatened to crack a few ribs . . .

Of course, that left the question of how to go about it. First, Frid had fired off an e-mail to Lord El-Melloi II (mentally suppressing the urge to giggle at the idea that he had Waver’s e-mail address!). It taken some thought, but he’d managed to couch things in vague terms: he’d done a job for Yggdmillennia, caught wind of some of their plans, and was on-site—did they want him to do anything about it . . .?

The response had been similarly vague—not due to secrecy, but lack of information on the Association’s part. Basically, it boiled down to, “Zelretch is handling it, and so I recommend withdrawing to a safe distance—for example, I hear Florida is nice at this time of year.”

Good advice, really; and under just about any other circumstances, he’d have taken it—probably even a bit further than Waver suggested. For example, why just settle for one ocean between him and the Wizard Marshal’s shenanigans? After all, what with growing up watching “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” and “Xena: Warrior Princess,” he’d always wanted to check out New Zealand . . .

But Fiore had asked—no.

. . . No, being honest, Fiore had begged him to do this; if she’d actually been capable of getting on her knees at that moment, she would have. She was that terrified for her brother, and since Frid knew just enough about what was coming he knew she had good reason to be. Maybe better reason than even he knew—after all, things so far had proven just different enough that he couldn’t guarantee either of them would survive as they had in the series.

So he had to try—and while getting involved as an outsider was always an option, he could do a lot more good as one of the Red Faction, as Fiore believed. Since getting in contact with the master of the Second Magic was a hit-and-miss proposition at best, Frid figured the most likely chance of success in that regard was to hack the system and make it a fait accompli; to wit, summon a Servant in the name of the Red Faction before all the slots were filled. If it didn’t work . . . Well, he was screwed, but at least he’d have tried.

And so he was here, on the roof of the Sighișoara Clock Tower—more than twenty-one stories up. Partly because this was the tallest place in the entire village, and therefore, despite his acrophobia, the easiest to conceal from prying eyes. It was unlikely that anyone could see him up here, after all, and some simple security measures kept those who might be curious from noticing—though whether it’d hold up against the lightshow he was about to call up, Frid couldn’t say.

Another part of the reason was that it wasn’t the cathedral, where Shirou Kotomine, if Zelretch had let him live (and the old vampire was liable to do that just to get some entertainment value of it, if what Frid knew of him was accurate) had set up shop. It was a pity, really—it was a gorgeous building, by the exterior, not to mention on the ground—but the prospect of dying via terminal velocity was still better than crossing the fake saviour’s path.

The last etchings made, Frid made a cut, and bleeding into his empty summoning circle, beginning to chant as he did so . . .

Ironically, Frid had a catalyst; he’d picked it up during a layover on his journey from the Orkneys. His pre-awakening reasoning, apparently, had been that it might be useful to the Yggdmillennia, given the scarcity of such things after the widescale distribution of the Heaven’s Feel ritual; and if not, it would be an interesting, if macabre, souvenir. Post-awakening, he’d still intended to hand it over—even if the Servant it would almost certainly summon was no better than Jack the Ripper, the newcomer was (probably) more reliable . . .

And then Fiore had made her request before he could even mention it, and rendered the catalyst useless. For one thing, the Assassin slot was probably already filled (unless Zelretch had intervened to take out the unholy love-child of EMIYA and Kotomine Kirei), and for another, that one wasn’t at all compatible with him.

Some of the other versions, maybe—but I’m not sure any of them would be strong enough to survive this . . . Which means I’m stuck relying on the compatibility system.

Even as he began the incantation, Frid wondered—what sort of Servant was compatible with a Master who intended to betray his comrades in spirit, if not in fact, from the beginning? He had no particular interest in the Grail, himself, and no reason to care whether the Association or the Yggdmillennia wound up with it in the end; at least, not insofar as it was kept out of the hands of Kotomine Shirou or “Count Darnicula . . .”

Shirou—the real Shirou, to his mind—would’ve approved of that, he thought.

His only concern in this affair beyond that was regarding Fiore’s wellbeing, and to a slightly lesser extent, Caules’; only “slightly,” because he did like the kid, and Fiore’s was, obviously, invested in it.

So who will it be? Normally, I'd expect Hans, but under these circumstances . . .? Medea was the betrayed, not the betrayer . . . Lancelot, maybe—or, since Mordred is a thing here, maybe her? It’d be nice to try and get her past her gender hang-up . . .

“. . . From the binding circle,” he finished in a thundering tone, “thou, Guardian of the Scales!”

Blazing light filled his vision, but his Mystic Eyes “saw” through the blindness, which revealed—

Oh, you have got to be kidding . . .









Writer's Notes: Bets, votes, and comments eagerly anticipated - and appreciated.

[RanmaBushiko]

No problem, we're all just nitpicky here. Also, should be "quid pro quo"

Zelretch promising Touko a True Magic seems like he's screwing with her, but I guess that's par for the course. I might need to look into Kairi's powers a bit more though, they might have some synergy I'm not thinking of. I don't see much other than references to him stealing Magic Crests, which is useful for Touko, but I thought she could do that herself.

Erik selling laser rifles is... unsurprising (and hilarious), though I wonder how he's managing the legal issues. Probably via massive firepower.

So we have 2 of Rider/Berserker/Caster left on Red (since Mash is taking one of those spots). Not sure what to try and predict there.

Thanks. I THOUGHT I got that quid pro quo, but with everything else, I misspelled it a second time.

Let's see now... Touko's joining for the mere POSSIBILITY to be a Sorcerer with the 3rd magic, rather than the fifth. She knows the capability of handling it is in her bloodline, so she's banking on the third being as compatible as the fifth, with promises of help from Zelretch if she does manage to get to the grail for the wish. As for her standard skill set, in Kara no Kyoukai, Touko's skilled enough to literally RESURRECT herself in in a doll after she dies. As for Kairi, his magic works with the dead. From what I've seen of him in Fate/Apocrypha, he seems to be skilled enough to bring out latent power from long dead corpses, including the bones of long dead magi. Since the whole issue with Touko's abilities is that "She's not sure how much of her transferred if she dies", and he likely CAN TELL that... well, you can see how well she can work with him from that skill alone.

As for laser rifles, the answer is PARTIALLY massive firepower. If someone shows up selling thousands of them without an issue, delivering without an issue, with no one able to find where the lasers are coming from, and the lasers set so anyone trying to take one apart has it destroyed on them? That alone points to it being a major power behind it, which will leave most governments on the back step, going "WHO THE HELL MADE THIS?!" more than "WHY CAN'T WE STEAL IT FOR OURSELVES, AND STOP THEM?!" or even "WHY CAN'T WE TAKE IT APART?!". Adding in that they're CHEAP for absurdly powerful weapons, you have an interesting issue of the governments more freaked out about where the lasers are coming from, than stopping them.

On top of that, lawyers aren't exactly ABLE to sneak onto a flying, invisible battleship to serve summons. Keep in mind, Erik is still very much a GOD, in mindset, and is still a rather charismatic fellow. He could make an entire government (barring mages, dead apostles, elementals, etc.) listen, turn around, and change the laws so his stuff is legal, within a few minutes. 22 automatic successes for Charisma versus a normal person's maximum of 5 rolls (if they get ungodly lucky rolls, and get all five dice rolled as tens, they'll have 10 maximum successes. They aren't going to roll even that high. Average of 2, maybe 4 at most.) means he can talk anyone out of something if they aren't a mage, etc. etc.

The other reason why is that he has the firepower to conquer a small country, and it's still an option in his book, even if he'd rather go for the simpler route of "hidden bases everywhere" instead. He has the firepower, he has the equipment... he has the Wolfen, and he has two nuclear explosives right now. I'm pretty sure that if it came down to "Romania vs the Wolfen", Erik would win. Against greater nations? That would be more problematic. But considering the sheer amount of fireppower and equipment he has left... well, think about it.

Erik might be weakened, but 50,000 Legion of Coal units alone is an absurd fighting force against most modern nations. All armed with laser rifles? Just as much so. Not to mention he has enough spare parts to produce another 1,950 lower grade mechs on top of what it would take to arm them all, well, it gets a little bit silly for how much firepower he can still bring to bear. And that's not even adding in the spare 800,000 Legion of Coal in reserve at Wolf Home that are happily mining away at Phobos and Deimos. If he NEEDS backup bad enough, it's very much still an option of sending Tamamo or Fenris back to get more of the Legion of Coal, or even leaving some on the moon to build a moon base. It would be a slower trip if they went back to Mars, admittedly, but even still, it's still very much in the realms of possibility.

Add in the two nukes, and you've got a world power hidden in the air, right here.

Yes, I'm sure you're going to go "But what about bombers?! What about those magnificent things dropping huge bombs on the enemy?"

Can bomber jets outrun giant, mechanical dragon mechs capable of fighting in the air or on the ground just as easily? I don't think so, sorry. 75 alone would decimate a smaller country's air force, if they even have one big enough to stop something on that level.

Keep in mind, the Wolfen alone has a fantastic alpha strike setup. If you look over the character sheet, it's able to go toe to toe with any air force you care to name, and likely win, especially considering it's going to fight like a Klingon Bird of Prey, rather than a battleship.

Adding in all that mecha, and against pretty much everything else barring an army of mages or homunculi, it's going to be a one sided massacre. Against the hanging Gardens, I can't really say which would win, or lose. But against a traditional air force/military... it's going to be a massacre, with Erik wading in on a personal mech, cackling the entire time while easily winning. Just... literally dodging everything but the biggest of explosives, or nukes nukes, easily. Those last two he'd have issues with, depending on how fast the mech is. If it's, say, the Veritech prototype? No issues. One of the others... yeah, gonna have issues. It'll likely SURVIVE it, but not unscathed.

He was never one for STRENGTH, but he was one for speed, dodging, and with the ability to use epic strength, epic dexterity, and epic stamina, as well as the skills thereof, while in a mech... it's... let's just say it's a bit broken for anything less than a servant here.

So the question is, does most governments have them as strategic assets? Likely NOT. Maybe the greater countries do, but this is in Romania.

They're likely going to have a small air force, backed up by treaties with other powers. They had 22 frigates sold to them, in 2004, so they'd likely have them by this point. But at the same time, considering they have only just above 60,000 people, and the Legion of Coal is armed with lasers that can cut through most vehicles like a hot knife through butter... while the mechs can take tanks and win? They'd have to use multiple rpg and tank rounds to take out a single legion of Coal, and most of them would be too dead to try. A single 250 pound bomb (approximately 50 lethal damage) would likely hurt the Legion of coal if they're in a group... but you'd need at least a 500 pound (approximately 100 lethal damage) one to guarantee a kill for several of them. If they don't get shot down first, by the lasers used by them. With the bombers in question fighting giant mechanical dragons in the air, though, that likely won't go so well.

Keeping in mind the issues with the rail guns on the Wolfen being able to shoot down any fighters that head towards Romanian air space, however... if it really came down to Romania vs Erik... Romania would lose.

[hatori]

My bet is on the Caster Lancer ( since apparently Scathach is the Lancer of Red)

[Arbitrarity]

Let's see now... Touko's joining for the mere POSSIBILITY to be a Sorcerer with the 3rd magic, rather than the fifth. She knows the capability of handling it is in her bloodline, so she's banking on the third being as compatible as the fifth, with promises of help from Zelretch if she does manage to get to the grail for the wish. As for her standard skill set, in Kara no Kyoukai, Touko's skilled enough to literally RESURRECT herself in in a doll after she dies. As for Kairi, his magic works with the dead. From what I've seen of him in Fate/Apocrypha, he seems to be skilled enough to bring out latent power from long dead corpses, including the bones of long dead magi. Since the whole issue with Touko's abilities is that "She's not sure how much of her transferred if she dies", and he likely CAN TELL that... well, you can see how well she can work with him from that skill alone.

Ahhh, Heaven's Feel, right. I can't believe I forgot the ENTIRE POINT of the Grail system. Kairi knowing about soul decay and so on also makes sense, though it doesn't seem to be as much an issue for Touko as it is for, say, Zouken. Zouken being hundreds of years old probably contributes there though.

I was mostly thinking about international defense treaties and something about arms dealing. Mostly because it's hard to ship weapons into the richer countries where you'd actually have buyers for laser rifles. I suppose you could just have people come the country you're based in, or abuse corruption in shipping. Or drop from near-orbit into remote areas, but the power requirements there would be nasty.


To Kieran:

I am not familiar with Sophia-Ui as a bloodline. There is Sola-Ui Sophia-Ri, from F/Zero, and she has a sibling, who I assume is the person being referred to?
Assassin catalyst, as evil as Jack, more reliable, not compatible, can be summoned in several classes, others are weaker but probably more compatible. Picked up during layover from Orkneys to Romania, so central European area. If we only looked at FGO assassins, that's probably Phantom, Jekyll, Sanson, or Carmilla. Jekyll's probably compatible and not really that evil, Phantom is pretty evil, though arguably compatible. I'm leaning strongly towards Carmilla for the "other versions", but if we end up with Halloween Eli, I'm just going to be confused.
On the compatibility-based side of things, we're looking at betrayal in spirit, Berserker/Rider/Caster. You could literally summon Sieg, since you implied his body was used to reincarnate Frid, so he'd be a giant catalyst, but that seems unlikely, since you explicitly mentioned getting rid of him. Mephistopheles is always up for betrayal, but he's not really your type. Nobody else really appeals to me, though Blackbeard would be... something.

Blackbeard and Elizabeth Bathory are both terrible guesses.

Also nitpick, you capitalized Clock Tower when referring to a clock tower that Frid is on top of. I wouldn't expect that to be the one in London, unless he has mastered teleportation.

[RanmaBushiko]

Ahhh, Heaven's Feel, right. I can't believe I forgot the ENTIRE POINT of the Grail system. Kairi knowing about soul decay and so on also makes sense, though it doesn't seem to be as much an issue for Touko as it is for, say, Zouken. Zouken being hundreds of years old probably contributes there though.

I was mostly thinking about international defense treaties and something about arms dealing. Mostly because it's hard to ship weapons into the richer countries where you'd actually have buyers for laser rifles. I suppose you could just have people come the country you're based in, or abuse corruption in shipping. Or drop from near-orbit into remote areas, but the power requirements there would be nasty.


To Kieran:

I am not familiar with Sophia-Ui as a bloodline. There is Sola-Ui Sophia-Ri, from F/Zero, and she has a sibling, who I assume is the person being referred to?
Assassin catalyst, as evil as Jack, more reliable, not compatible, can be summoned in several classes, others are weaker but probably more compatible. Picked up during layover from Orkneys to Romania, so central European area. If we only looked at FGO assassins, that's probably Phantom, Jekyll, Sanson, or Carmilla. Jekyll's probably compatible and not really that evil, Phantom is pretty evil, though arguably compatible. I'm leaning strongly towards Carmilla for the "other versions", but if we end up with Halloween Eli, I'm just going to be confused.
On the compatibility-based side of things, we're looking at betrayal in spirit, Berserker/Rider/Caster. You could literally summon Sieg, since you implied his body was used to reincarnate Frid, so he'd be a giant catalyst, but that seems unlikely, since you explicitly mentioned getting rid of him. Mephistopheles is always up for betrayal, but he's not really your type. Nobody else really appeals to me, though Blackbeard would be... something.

Blackbeard and Elizabeth Bathory are both terrible guesses.

Also nitpick, you capitalized Clock Tower when referring to a clock tower that Frid is on top of. I wouldn't expect that to be the one in London, unless he has mastered teleportation.

Erik has reliable stealth cloaking that makes his entire ship look like hazy waves, much like the Predator's cloak in the first two movies made the Predator look. Hard to notice, but something that big is going to be easy to miss as something other than odd cloud currents. It also works perfectly against radar. He also has the means to reliably reproduce that, though it needs ichor as a component right now, since he's not sure exactly what's going wrong for his equipment.

Stealthed gunships are easily a "thing" here, due to it. Can't fire while cloaked, though, since he hasn't QUITE gotten that down.

If he ever does, however (And yes, there's background rolls for if he ever figures it out that I have going, approximately one per day, involving him, that or SHIELDS, alternatively...), it's going to be a bit like Chang vs The Enterprise from Star Trek 6. Personally, I already figured out how he'd do such a thing. Erik on the other hand... not so much. And without that ultimate intelligence of his, he's going to have a harder time realizing his issue. Tamamo, on the other hand, or the Servant he'll be getting, might be able to make him realize it and where he went WRONG. *chuckles* The next chapter involving him should be rather amusing, too, to be fair.

To be absolutely fair, I'm not going to sit down right now and roll out all the innovations, and inventions he's done in the 30 years since his character was last played. Suffice to say as a driven God who's somewhat terrified his father may try to off him at any given moment, Slayer of Jormungandr or NOT, until he was on MARS, however... it was quite a bit. Add in that I never added knacks to a lot of perviews he's gotten, he CAN upgrade from here, if he ever remembers to learn them. Kieran and I really have to sit and work that out for something that isn't too crazy sounding, though. Or as overpowered as the Frost perview is in Erik's hands.

As for Servants, we went over quite a few, and I mean QUITE a few options, before we settled on ones for the characters in here. Something like 12 different options for him, before we settled on one for him. And a good few for Erik, as well, before we settled on the one Erik will have.

To be honest, for a long while, I thought about Nero as Caster for Erik, but stopped due to Kieran pointing out that others might want to use her more. So that'll be a surprise for everyone. *chuckles*

Now, back to work on the next chapter. Which is Olga again!

[Kieran]

To Kieran:

I am not familiar with Sophia-Ui as a bloodline. There is Sola-Ui Sophia-Ri, from F/Zero, and she has a sibling, who I assume is the person being referred to?

Ack - sorry, I misread it (or the article on the wiki misspelled it) - I did mention that I hate the TYPE-MOON method of naming foreign characters (and this is why) . . . Anyways, it's fixed, thank you.

Also nitpick, you capitalized Clock Tower when referring to a clock tower that Frid is on top of. I wouldn't expect that to be the one in London, unless he has mastered teleportation.

Actually, the Clock Tower in question is a tourist attraction in the village, so I meant it as a proper name - I have, however, added the village name (its full name) to help avoid confusion, thank you.

Assassin catalyst, as evil as Jack, more reliable, not compatible, can be summoned in several classes, others are weaker but probably more compatible. Picked up during layover from Orkneys to Romania, so central European area. If we only looked at FGO assassins, that's probably Phantom, Jekyll, Sanson, or Carmilla. Jekyll's probably compatible and not really that evil, Phantom is pretty evil, though arguably compatible. I'm leaning strongly towards Carmilla for the "other versions", but if we end up with Halloween Eli, I'm just going to be confused.

You are correct - he stopped at Cachtice Castle to pick up a bit of stone from it. (And before you ask - or in case you miss it in the article - F/GO uses the actual Hungarian spelling of its name. Weird, considering how often things get mangled . . .)

Carmilla probably would have been better than Jack for the Black side, I think - but just doesn't work for Red (or Frid, for that matter). Elizabeth, on the other hand . . .

On the compatibility-based side of things, we're looking at betrayal in spirit, Berserker/Rider/Caster. You could literally summon Sieg, since you implied his body was used to reincarnate Frid, so he'd be a giant catalyst, but that seems unlikely, since you explicitly mentioned getting rid of him. Mephistopheles is always up for betrayal, but he's not really your type. Nobody else really appeals to me, though Blackbeard would be... something.

"Something" - what a polite way of saying "terrible."

Blackbeard and Elizabeth Bathory are both terrible guesses.

Well, as said in the Writer's Note: votes are also accepted . . .

[RanmaBushiko]

Ahh, insomnia. How I hate thee with a passion. Have a new chapter due to my insomnia.

Chapter 7: Of where Puppy Dog Eyes make Daddy laugh, and Telescopes, and... Green Hat Guy?

June 6th, 2004

9:00 AM


Dear Diary.

"Why not just say Dear Sapphire instead, Mistress?"

"Erm... What do you think, Mash? Should I start calling my Diary Sapphire, since she somehow merged with it?"

She pauses, then grumbles under her breath, while Fou happily plays with the stick I've been throwing for him. Her. It. Why is it so hard to TELL with Fou? Hmph. I bet Fou hides it to mess with me! Or someone else does.

"I'm not sure, Director. To be fair, you're not nearly like the version of you I knew in my past."

Eh? Hmm.

"How so, Mashy Mash?"

She twitches, softly.

"At least call me something nicer. Maybe Shieldy, for all I know. But not Mashy, please."

I can't help but pout, then sigh.

"Ooh, ooh, Mistress! Your father's home. You may want to hide Mash and Fou so he doesn't spot the...oh crap. Incoming father!"

I turn, then breathe. "Hi Daddy!"

He storms in, then looks, somehow looking at Mash, even though he shouldn't be able to. He doesn't look like he's mad, but I can't tell what he's thinking right now.

I smile at him, widely. "Guess what? I got these neat red things on my hand, and summoned this nice lady who calls me Director! I think I managed to get someone from our future! Or A future, at least!"

He stops, going still, then turns, before hugging me tight.

"Daughter. You will relinquish those command seals to me later tonight, in a ceremony. You're too young for this."

I tilt my head, studying Daddy.

"Oh, right! Mash, could you tell Daddy about what you mentioned involving that Chal... C place? I keep forgetting it's name."

She reappears, studying him, but looks a touch bit... pale? I can't tell why.

"Yes, Director. I'm from a future where Lev Lainur Flouros betrayed Chaldea, after murdering yourself, Sir. He attempted to kill Olga here in my timeline as well, after becoming your successor as Director..."

Mash pauses, looking down, then turns away.

Why is she turning away? I can't really tell... Daddy's face might... Daddy looks pale, too.

"How bad was it, miss... Mash?"

"You did a lot of things I'm not happy to know of, to be honest, Sir. But he tried to unmake history itself, and nearly succeeded. I became a heroic spirit, a MODERN heroic spirit, through the effort to stop him, even though I was originally a demi-servant..."

Daddy nods, then sighs. "Even still. My daughter should not suffer through this... unpleasantness. I'll hear no arguments, the command seals will be moved to me tonight. I'm sorry, my daughter, my Olga. But you will not fight this day."

I pout at him, giving him the widest, teariest look I can.

He laughs at me. He's laughing at me! Daddy's laughing again for the first time ever in so very long!

I smile, and hug his leg.

"Daddy, could you tell me what happened that you saw?"

"Do you remember me telling you about things that you should never approach, and showed you pictures of them, Olga?"

I think back, then nod.

"Good girl. Do you remember that ORT thing that scared you so much?"

"Yes, Daddy!" I nod, repeatedly, to show I remember.

He pulls out a picture, showing a giant eyeball held up by lots and lots of tiny things that look like small eyeballs, and something really fuzzy across from it, looking like they're having a staring contest.

"What's that, Daddy?" I can't help but turn my head, and study it closer.

"We've dubbed it TYPE-MARS, much like ORT seems to be TYPE-MERCURY. In other words, the strongest thing there."

I point at what it's glaring at.

"I mean that weird blur there. It kind of looks like a ship or something..."

He pauses, and studies it closer.

"What do you mean, dear?"

I pause, then grab Sapphire, pulling a page open and scribbling a drawing to show him.

"See? Like that. See the outline now?"

He tilts his head, then goes very, very still, blinking repeatedly.

"Olga, dear? I think the picture was somehow enchanted so I couldn't see that thing there. Or maybe the thing is so enchanted, I can't normally see it? If I bring you to the telescope, would you mind looking for that thing?"

I nod, and give Daddy a big hug. He's acting like a father again, not being sad like before!

"Sure! Let's take Mash and Fou along, too, okay? They're fun, and Fou is so very very cute!"

"Fou!"

I can't help but squeal and hug Fou again, petting him.

"...You're too adorable with them, Olga. I'll put off the command seals for a day or two, so we can work out where that thing is, and where it went, tomorrow."

4:00 PM

Dear Sapphire,
I'm at work with Daddy!

I can see you smiling at me, somehow, Sapphire! Still, I'm at work with Daddy! It's really neat, too, and they have this BIIIIG telescope here to look at places in space at! Daddy mentioned it's enchanted so other people can see things in space even when it's bright out!

That fellow with the green hat isn't here today, either. Or if he is, I haven't seen him.

"Olga, could you look through the telescope and see if it's still there with TYPE-MARS, please, for that thing you spotted?"

I look in, then blink at seeing Mars really, really well. The eyes are missing, though... and I don't see that thing anywh... wait.

"Daddy, can you move the telescope left?"

He does, a bit.

"Keep on going Daddy. A bit more... a biiiiit more... there! I see it now!"

"It's nowhere near Mars, though, Olga."

It has big giant jets of fire coming out of it's back, Daddy. Wait, there it disappears?! Turn it more left, Daddy!"

He complies, then I stare as it seems to blink in, then out, several more times, constantly helping Daddy with moving the telescope so I can see it move.

"Huh. It looks like it's going to reappear in a Meteor Shower or something... lots and lots of rocks? I'm not sure. But it keeps on disappearing then reappearing while getting closer. Like it's... heading towards the Moon or maybe US or something Daddy."

He moves, gently pushing me aside so he can see through the telescope lens, too. I can hear Mash moving behind us, too.

Wait. Why is Mash moving behind...

"Director, get down!"

I throw myself to the ground, then blink as Daddy gets on top of me, right before a big boom goes off in my ear, followed by a lot more booms in the room we're in. Everything's moving in slow motion, and I can SEE lots of fire slowly coming towards us, before Mash screams "LORD CAMELOT!" and the flames stop against her giant shield.

Daddy's wincing in pain, though. Did Mash not get...

Daddy's telescope blew up. I can see big metal fragments in Daddy's leg, too.

"Daddy?!"

He winces, and hugs me close.

"Mash, get the one that did this to Daddy!"

"Hmph. When I saw your daughter with command seals for the Red faction, I decided that they would better serve me, rather than her."

It's the green hat guy! Boy, Mash looks pissed to see him, too.

"Now, Olga, wasn't it? You'll give me your command seals so I can summon a servant, and then..."

A loud thump interrupts him.

"No, Lev Lainur Flauros, you die here and now, my shield through your throat cutting your head off as you deserve."

I can see his head on Mash's shield, wide eyed and staring in shock.

"Mash, can you help Daddy now?"

She turns, moving over, and works to check on his wounds.

"Sir, you're going to lose your leg if the shrapnel is removed or jostled too much. I'm not very good in the way of healing, either. I'll get us out of here, however. You and the Director both."

Daddy nods, as Mash flips the shield, and pulls Daddy on it to drag him out.

June 9th, 2004

2:00 PM

It's official. Daddy's leg is badly injured. He'll be getting lots of money from the Clock Tower for the assassination, as well as the lost telescope and lab he worked in, especially with what we told them about the pictures of TYPE-MARS, but... Daddy can't come with for this Grail War thing. He'll be healed in a few months, but until then, he can't leave.

So we'll just have to go and win it for Daddy! As well as for the family! Isn't that right, Sapphire?

"You're monologuing again, Mistress."

"Oops. Well, let's go on an adventure! Do we have the backpacks and everything?"

Mash giggles, and nods, before pointing at Fou, also wearing a little doggy pair of saddle bags.

Aww, Fou's so cute! I can't help but pet Fou again. So cute!




June 23rd, 2004

3:00 PM (Bless you Sapphire for having a built in clock!)

Mash is so fun to travel with! We've been going to some places before we go to a place where she has to fight in, and she wanted to go to Italy with me!

Daddy okayed it, too! Still... why does camping need to be so cold! I'm an ANIMUSPHERE! If I say to stop raining, you should do it, sky!

Mash is giggling. Hmph! I pout at the sky, then shake my fist at it.

She's laughing harder now.

"Just because we're camping instead of using a hotel, Director, doesn't mean it's that bad."

I turn then pout at her. Why's nature ganging up on me, much less Mash and Sapphire?

"Seriously, why won't it stop raining when I say it should! I want to be dry already!"

She giggles, then puts a jacket on me, instead. It's rather thin, but kind of really comfortable...

"This is a rain jacket. You're supposed to be wearing it out here, Director."

"Yup! Even I knew that, Mistress!"

I can't help but blink, at a slightly odd sound, at the very edge of my hearing.

"So we're going to the beach here near Rome, Mash? Why near Rome?"

"Mostly because I wanted to see where Nero lived, and if Nero's grave could be found. I met her as a Demi-Servant, and the Emperor Nero was quite the person."

I blink at Mash.

"Why aren't you calling them a boy, though?"

She giggles. But something... that sound is louder?

I can hear a faint voice, too.

"What do you MEAN, WE'RE FALLING?!"

It sounds like shouting. I turn, glancing around, then blink. There's a giant thingy in the sky, up REALLY high. It's getting... closer?

"Mash...? You remember that picture of Daddy's?"

She pauses, then nods, before I simply point up.

"It's up there, and I think Sapphire is making it easy for me to hear someone just shout about it falling."

She blinks, pauses, then slowly looks between us, and it.

https://youtu.be/6owMBdM4Fq4?t=160 "Buying the Space Farm ~ Star Trek Into Darkness Soundtrack"


"Mash? Do you remember that... Lord whatever?"

"Yes, Director!"

"Use it, please. I think it's coming right at us."

"Wait, You're...!"

She pauses, narrows her eyes, glancing between myself and where I'm pointing.

"Sapphire, can you let Mash see the thing too?!"

"Yes, Mistress!"

I watch Mash's eyes blink, then go wide, even as she goes pale.

"Oh, I hope this works... Director, Command me with a command seal to use it with all my might and will!"

"Mash! By the power of this command seal! Use your Lord Whatchamaycallit at full power with everything you have!"

"LORD CAMELOT!"

It's not like before, where waves of the shield appeared. This is instead a massive castle forming around us, made out of pure magic?!

I can see it getting closer, rapidly, even as I grab Fou and cling to Mash's backside.

Please let Mash keep us from dying! PLEASE!"

*WHAM*

I see the ship slam into the Spell thingy that Mash has up... then slide? Wait. It's sliding along the top of the magic castle she made? Turning leaves me gaping as it slides along the top, and off, not onto the beach, but rather the ocean water near us.

WOW! I HAVE THE BEST SERVANT EVER!

Aww, that blur thingy's got some fires on it! Wait, now the fires disappeared! YAY!

"Let's go swim to it and find out why it crashed, Mash!"

"Mistress... she's panting."

"Oh. Right. When you're recovered, then!"

"Ahoy the Beach! You folks okay? Wait..."

"Ahoy there too! Could you tell me where you came from? Daddy saw you with that giant eye thing on Mars!"

There's a man sticking his head out of a hatch on top, and blinking at us.

"Huh. Name's Erik Ulricson. I'll send some robots over to help you get on board, later, once we've got the ship fixed up. Mind keeping it a secret, though?"

I nod. "You're a very polite person, Mr. Erik!"

He laughs, and studies us further, his eyes seeming to glow for a moment.

"You seem nice yourself. Considering I recognize who you're traveling with... would you be a Miss Mash Kyrielight, by any chance?"

"Yes, I am. How would you know of me?"

"History where we came from originally involved a series of visual novels, anime, and video games about mages summoning servants, including a game called Fate/Grand Order. We couldn't play or buy much of it, since the trip between Mars and Earth there was literally months if we didn't want to strain the ship, much less the political situation when we left in early 2001 by our history."

Mash pauses, blinking.

"Was I in one of those?"

"Yeah, that Grand Order game, and a movie. We couldn't get around to it with how bad relations soured between us and Earth though, towards the end. And when we did go back, it wound up being a literal apocalypse."

I can't help but wince. I know what that word is, and it's nothing good. But... Mash is just looking pensive.

"What type of apocalypse?"

"Come aboard and we'll talk it over. I'd rather not shout it from here."

That kind of makes sense...

"Sapphire! Can you bring us to Mr. Erik's ship?"

"Yes, Mistress!"

Oooh, we're flying! How are we flying? Does Sapphire come built in with a magic broom or something?

"Call my ship the Wolfen. Though it's going to have to work as a Submarine until we get it repaired, at least..."

He pauses, looking back inwards. "Honey, we're going to have guests. Plus, you're going to hate your mother for keeping us from visiting, again!"

I can't help but blink and tilt my head, even as we fly on Sapphire towards the ship. Somehow, I get the feeling that this is going to be an interesting adventure indeed...


First Roll for situations possibly involving Erik...
1D2 => 2
Second Roll
1D3 => 2
I can work with that.

Rolling for where the Wolfen LANDS...
1D3 => 2
Welp. At least I have the perfect MUSIC for this, though I didn't think I'd NEED it.


Author's Note:

How. The hell. Did those rolls happen? Seriously. What are those rolls, even. Rather than the beach, or the water, the Wolfen goes straight, I mean STRAIGHT for Mash and Olga?

Well, at least you got to see a point of "Nigh-unstoppable force meeting an Immovable Object, here." as well as exactly HOW the Wolfen compares to a Servant. She stopped the Wolfen, to the point it skidded off the top of her Noble Phantasm, and into the water behind her.

[Kieran]

Ahh, insomnia. How I hate thee with a passion. Have a new chapter due to my insomnia.

Understandable, and I'm sorry for it - but I've a few nitpicks . . .

"You did a lot of things I'm not happy to know of, to be honest, Sir. I don't like you at all, to be honest.

This is unnecessarily repetitive, and awkward to read.



Secondly, I appear to have accidentally deleted it, but the word is "monologuing" - no "E." And lastly . . .

First Roll for situations possibly involving Erik...
1D2 => 2
Second Roll
1D3 => 2
I can work with that.

These really should be at the end of the chapter - they're disruptive to the flow, otherwise.


. . . Other than that, another entertaining chapter; hope you sleep well, finally.

[RanmaBushiko]

Edited. Thanks for pointing it out for me, Kieran. *chuckles* I did sleep soon afterwards.

[Kieran]

Good to hear . . . And as for how those rolls went that way? Again, I'm blaming me.

[Arbitrarity]

Ooof, using a Command Seal that early hurts. Probably would have needed Lord Camelot for the impact anyways, but maybe not Command Seal level. Glad to see Lev out of the picture, though I'm always a bit confused about how malicious he should actually be before 2015.

Parts of dialogue aren't entirely clear about who's speaking. I found myself a bit confused at

"Let's go swim to it and find out why it crashed, Mash!"

"Director... she's panting."

"Oh. Right. When you're recovered, then!"

Is the middle speaker Sapphire? That's not clear when Mash is the person being addressed by Olga. If it's Mash, the quote marks probably need adjusting.

Erik meeting Frid, when they both are extradimensional with knowledge of Grand Order (and possibly Apocrypha, for Erik) will be strange. Frid's more used to keeping that sort of thing secret, but Erik seems a bit more open about the entire thing, which is probably not a good habit.

Also, woo, successful identification of catalyst. I'm going to go with the caster Eli guess for summon then, because accidental catalyst use seems more common that you might think. I suppose Patron Saint of Lolicon for compatibility might also apply. It felt like a rather weak guess at the time, though admittedly better than Blackbeard.